Custom Turbo Everdrive Shell

Has anyone seen the advert for the new makerbot? It makes super smooth things. Would be perfect for a shell.

 

Yes I'm aware of it. I would love to get one someday. Right now, it's still too much.

 

I've made more tweaks to the Shell. It's more rigid, has slightly more clearance on the SD slot soldered pads, and smaller gap on the region switch and reset button area. Region switch opening is now on the side. I have made the shell available to purchase on Shapeway.com http://shpws.me/mJxP (Private link, not searchable on their site). They are offering free shipping for Cyber Monday Sale for US customer. Go to their BLOG page for discount code. Everything will taken care of by Shapeway.com. Please understand the cost is dictated by their operating cost. While I will earn a "license fee" I will be charge a transaction fee for each sale also. This is not a mass produce injection molded part and the price reflects this. This may not be for everyone, you may or may not have to make further modification upon receipt of the part due the fact that I have no control of the actual print nor manufacturing of the PCB.

 

22 USD for black is the highest, and that's I think a fair deal. White though would make it look more like a HUCARD. Figure a custom label from one of the folks on a forum runs about $7. So it's about half what the Deluxe TE from Stone Age will run, so I'll probably go with theirs. But this is still a great design, and I'm very intrigued at the method of selling it, getting this website to make it for you. Had no idea that was possible before!

 

definitely will order one soon

 

Ordered!

Thanks!

 

yeah i want one and will order soon. one question though what screws do i get for attaching the shell to the board?

 

Thanks for trying it out. Let me know how it turn out for you, good or bad.

 

I salvaged some micro screws from old electronic devices. They are approximately 1.9mm in diameter and I had to grind it shorter. Unfortunately they couldn't be found in local hardware store. You may be able to find them online, but they usually require buying in bulk. If you are searching them online, I think M2.0x4 counter sink head may be easier to find. Countersink screws obviously require you to countersink the PCB. If you can find super low profile pan head screws then you may get away without doing so. I suggest always user shorter screws whenever possible to prevent bottoming out, otherwise you might burst the shell through.

 

cheers for the info i will try and track some of these screws down then order a shell

 

Got my shell today!

1st impression, very nice. Has a powdery texture (and some powdery residue comes off in your hand). But solid, and no obvious signs of being built up layer by layer as I may have expected with a 3D print.

It looks like foam, but it's solid and hard wearing.

It's a little rough textured, it would be nice to see a smooth one, but that can probably only come from injection molding?

It's precise. My white PCE is obviously no longer white due to UV exposure, but the shell does look like a regular Hucard (with benefits!).

The shell can't be overlayed on the PCB with the SD card fitted, so you need to remove the card, but it's a prefectly measured fit. Once you put the card in it fits without any problem, nothing is rubbing or mis-fitting or sticking out in any way. The plastic lays perfectly flat on the PCB and doesn't interfear with any components.

Here are a bunch of pictures - the grey core grafix for comparison to how it looks in the white PCE.

Thanks - it's great! (Just need to get some screws now, but it's already protecting the PCB without even being screwed down, so that's got to be better.

 

That, my friend, is a thing of beauty. I'm hoping to get one after the holidays. As much as I'd love to get this right now, my family comes first.

BuffaloWing, awesome job! This is probably the best case solution I've ever seen.

EDIT: Just a thought for your design, BuffaloWing. Instead of having it screwed in, maybe have protrusions or tabs that go through the holes of the TED instead?

 

Mqarak, I'm glad you like it. It seem like you received your shell in less than 10 days. You are in Netherlands right? Shapeway is based there I think. Anyway, the white residue can be rinse off under running water. Your print look very similar in texture quality to my first shell. You can lightly wet sand the surface with fine grit sand paper to lessen the powdery texture. I suggest you test it on the back side if you are unsure. Shapeway actually offers an optional polishing process but I wasn't sure if it would ruin the flatness of he PCB side of the shell, so I disabled the option. There is also option to print in fine detail plastic, which is acrylic based but is significantly more expensive.

 

I suppose I could have four posts extend through the existing holes on the PCB and rely on friction to grip it in place. Anything is possible in theory. My only concern is that since the holes on the PCB is only 2mm in diameter there is no much surface areas for reliable grip. Plus, 2mm posts might be too weak. But then again, there is no stopping any one from using a little dab of hot glue to tack it place... Anyway, if that's what you prefer, I can upload a customize version for you to order.

 

It came in a significantly bigger sized box than I was expecting, so it spent an evening at a neighbours house who took it in for me as there was no way that was going in my post box (it was the size of a DVD boxset or so). Not sure about delivery time - I got it into my head that it was coming from the US - but it was pretty reasonable.
They seem like a very professional company and kept me well informed of the progress of my order.

To be honest, I didn't know where shapeways were based, but I've just checked and it's Eindhoven, so it didn't have far to travel !

I might wash it, probably won't bother sanding it, and I don't really need to screw it down to be honest - it's going to stay in the PCE and the SD card keeps it in place somewhat.

All the best,
Mqark.

 

I thought I just found some screws that might work for it, but it was too big. So yeah, I may take you up on that in the future, but not anytime soon. Thanks!

 

Given that hunting for and modifying screws is kind of a pain, as well as the thread wear that might occure on the printed parts, I suggest you make an alternate version that has the posts. Perhaps with a slight V arrow head at the end so that it will slide into place once presure is placed on the sides and lightly hook the PCB into place. It would be way more convinent and would require zero modification from the end-users standpoint. But of course, that all depends on what kind of clearance you have on the underside of the unit. But given you had space for screws, I assume there is room for clips (Even if small).

 

I found that many counter sink screws I purchased trying to find screws for Deluxe even the small screws the heads were too big and when counter sinking to make it flush it would come very close or even hit the PCB components on the bottom. This is why I changed to drilling out PCB a bit and inserting small nut into bottom. This obviously won't work for this shell unless it was modified to allow you to screw from the top of shell. I think a pan head screw and drilling slightly into the bottom of the PCB is the better choice, however like Trenton_net said. Small screws of the right sizes are not as easy to come by as you would think. Not unless you want to order a bunch at once. I ordered about 10 different screws and nuts until I finally found the right combination.

 

Yes, unfortunately screws this small are hard to purchase. The holes on the PCB is only 2mm, so there are not many options out there. I know I casually mentioned hot gluing on my previous post, but I feel this may be the best solution for those who do not want to deal with screws while retaining the option to use them if they become available.

 

Your TED Shell looks pretty sweet.

Can ya look into including four 3D-Printed plastic pegs?
They could be super-glued into the screw holes of the Shell, by end users.
They should stick out a bit, so they can fit into the holes on the PCB of the TED.

The end user could then place a dab of hot glue on the SD Card Slot, or another area, before putting the Pegged Shell on.
The pegs will ensure proper alignment, when putting your shell on the TED.
You might need to alter the underside of your Shell design a bit, so there's a flush (but somewhat grooved) area above the Micro SD Card, and/or any other flat areas, such as a chip, so there won't be a large gap.
Some grooves should help the Hot Glue ooze into the Shell.

Doing the above should remove the need to hunt down special screws, and/or make a bunch of custom-designed screws.